Question of the Day

Should President Trump end 'chain migration?'

The ambassador of the Dominican Republic is appealing for donations to help his country recover from a devastating flood that killed about 2,000 people in that country and Haiti and nearly destroyed a rural town.

“The best way to help with flood relief is to make a financial contribution,” Ambassador Hugo Guilliani said.

He explained that donations of food, blankets and other items sometimes don’t reach the disaster victims.

Mr. Guilliani said the embassy “appreciates the solidarity expressed by all who have demonstrated their concern for the victims of the recent floods.”

Financial donations can be made through the American Red Cross by calling 800/HELP NOW or 800/257-7575, a Spanish-language line.

Checks can be made out to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, with a notation in the memo line that it is intended for the Dominican Republic, and mailed to P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C., 20013.

Donations also can be made to World Vision by calling 888/56-CHILD or 888/511-6566 for the Spanish-language line. Checks can be mailed to World Vision, P.O. Box 78481, Tacoma, WA, 98481-8481.

Donations also can be made online at www.redcross.org or www.worldvision.org.

Roh stronger now

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun is stronger than ever, after a court’s decision to reinstate him to office after an unprecedented impeachment, according to a government spokesman.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the workings of the Roh administration will be much more effective. Its relations with the National Assembly will be more cooperative, and citizens will be increasingly encouraged to participate in state affairs,” spokesman Jung Soon-kyun said in a letter to The Washington Times.

Mr. Jung said his letter was an attempt to update the American press on the three-month political crisis that saw Mr. Roh removed from office in March on charges of corruption, incompetence and illegal political activities.

The country’s Constitutional Court on May 14 ordered him reinstated, rejecting the corruption and mismanagement charges. The court also said the charge of political interference was too minor to justify his removal from office. Mr. Roh violated the neutrality of the presidency by urging voters to support the reformist Uri Party in the April elections. The party, which supports Mr. Roh’s rapprochement policies toward North Korea, won a majority in the legislature.

South Koreans, a majority of whom opposed impeachment, feel a renewed confidence in democracy since the elections and the court decision, Mr. Jung said.

“Although the country suffered over the past two months while the president was suspended,” he said, “the Korean people gained a sense of confidence and pride that the country’s democratic system is functioning well, as originally intended, and democracy has matured substantially as seen in the impeachment process.”

Said Aly at Brookings

An Egyptian professor and peace activist is the newest visiting scholar at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.

Abdel Monem Said Aly is an expert on relations between the Arab world and the West, said Martin S. Indyk, director of the Saban Center.

He is “one of the most incisive and rational analysts of the Arab state system and its relationship with the West, and his works have enlightened policy-makers and regional experts alike,” said Mr. Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs.

Mr. Said Aly is the founder of the International Alliance for Arab-Israeli Peace and the Egyptian Peace Movement.